We, the Active Citizens for Tribal Truth (ACTT), believe in the sovereignty of our Tribes. We believe that, as the first peoples of this continent, we have basic rights related to our way of life. ACTT is committed to upholding sovereignty in the hopes that – one day – our People will be healed enough and fully conscious enough to return to and protect a way of life we believe in. We believe in sovereignty and in our ways of life in an active sense, not just empty words and claims. We believe it is hard to be a Lakota or Dakota person because it means doing the right thing and not the easy thing. We believe we have a duty and a responsibility to speak up if we want to protect our Nation and Way of Life. Because we believe in these things, we have established the following goals for the future of ACTT: 1. We believe that sovereignty is having our own LAND. We believe that our homelands are not prisons we were put on but lands our ancestors fought to protect and keep for us. We believe that all enrolled members are proud of this land and want to return home to either live their lives or be buried at least. We believe that, if they were given a choice, all enrolled members would live proudly in their homelands. Our goals as they relate to these beliefs about LAND are: --To advocate for basic and equal voting rights for all enrolled members of the Tribe, through advocacy and promotion, based on historical residency. --To seek to provide an Ambassador position on the Tribal Council for enrolled members who are unable to live on the reservation. 2. We believe that sovereignty is having our own LEADERS. We believe in the traditional leadership style of humble leaders who put the People before themselves and were the primary hunters for the Tribe. We believe that leaders should hold themselves to a standard that is higher than anyone else – be the most ethical, the most generous, the most humble. Our goals as they relate to these beliefs about LEADERS are: --To seek to establish an independent, regulated Code of Ethics board with investigative and sanction abilities to determine internal ethics violations and disputes. --To advocate for qualifications for individuals to serve on the Tribal Council, including education, experience, cultural, and knowledge of government. 3. We believe that sovereignty is having our own CITIZENRY. We believe that we should embrace all members of our Tribe as enrolled members so that we can strengthen our Tribe, instead of always dividing ourselves between nonsensical divisions such as ND/SD, L-speaker/D-speaker, on-rez/off-rez, this District/that District. We believe that we, as CITIZENS of this Tribe, have a right and a DUTY to speak up – no matter how much our leadership may not like it at this time. One day, we hope that we will be healed enough as a people to have leaders who invite people to give their opinion, to debate issues, and to stand up for what they believe in. One day, we hope that we will be healed enough as a people so that our leadership will have the humility and the wisdom to understand that citizens who want to participate is a GOOD thing and will find a way to include all of our voices. One day, we hope our CITIZENS will think beyond mere survival and begin to think of how our Tribe can grow and prosper. Our goals as they relate to CITIZENRY are: --To seek to establish a clear delineation of authority between the three branches of government and automatic sanctions for abuse of power. --To advocate for regular reviews of the various Codes and the Constitution via public forums so the People can be informed. 4. Finally, we believe sovereignty is having our own RESOURCES. We believe in the traditional view of communal land ownership and that individual land ownership has divided us and created unethical behavior that hurts the entire Tribe. We believe that resources should be shared and we are disappointed that we have become a People who are divided by the “have’s” and the “have-not’s”. We believe that we need to use our resources in a better way. We believe we are wasting and abusing resources which could be used to give every enrolled member of our Tribe a decent way of life. Our goal as it relates to RESOURCES is: --To advocate for an improved budget input system so that the People in the communities can have a more comprehensive say in the budget direction of the Tribe and provide automatic sanctions for failure to include community input. If you believe in these goals and views as well, we invite you to get involved and take your responsibilities as a citizen of the SRST seriously. We will be announcing ACTT meetings in the future and invite your participation.
Posted on: Sat, 10 Aug 2013 00:32:24 +0000
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